Colony (Tomas)

Sixteen year old Aine lives in the Colony, and his whole life was decided before he was born. In two years he will marry the girl next door, Brin, who was assigned as his Other at birth. Then he will be given a position in the Colony's workforce that best suits his talents. Each night he takes four pills, like everyone else in the Colony, and he knows the pills keep them safe and their world in order. Everything is fine. Perfect, in fact. Until Aine accidentally drops one of his pills. Terrified, he tries to hide the mistake, but when he dreams for the first time in his life, he discovers all he's been missing. What scares him more than not taking the pill, though, is how alive his dreams make him feel. Because it isn't Brin he dreams of but his best friend Kyer. Another boy. Suddenly Aine's world turns upside down, and he doesn't know what to think or who to trust. All he knows for sure is he's falling in love with Kyer, which is forbidden by the Colony's Code, and he will do anything to protect their budding relationship. Even if it means defying the Overseer and leaving the Colony behind.

The only way sixteen-year-old Aine and his true Other Kyer can be together is to escape the Colony with its Code, its pills, and its constant monitoring. Breaking out of the Colony was hard enough, but living outside of its protective walls proves to be even harder. The boys have been raised to believe all life outside the Colony was destroyed by the last war. However, Aine soon discovers this is a lie. On their first day of freedom, they meet Sinda, a girl their own age who has grown up in the harsh new world outside the Colony. In return for some food, she agrees to help them out and leads them underground, where people must live to avoid predators, acid rain, and disease. It doesn't take long for Aine to tire of living hand to mouth. He misses the comforts of his bed, his friends, and his family. Why should he be the one to run away? He and the boy he loves have done nothing wrong. Aine is destined to be the next Overseer, so why can't he return to the Colony and start a revolution to change the way things are run? Why can't people love who they want to, rather than who they're told to? Why can't they think for themselves, and live as they want? When he receives a message from Brin that she, too, has stopped taking her pills, Aine realizes he isn't the only one unhappy with the Code. If he and Kyer return, maybe they can enlist their friends' help to bring about some much-needed changes. But breaking back in proves even harder than breaking out. They must dodge the Officers, evade the Monitors, and convince a drug-controlled Colony it deserves better. But will anyone listen to them? Or will they be caught and medicated back into compliance?

This collection combines both books in J. Tomas's successful gay dystopian YA romance, The Colony:Rebellion: In the Colony, Aine's life was decided at birth. The girl next door is his Other, whom he will marry one day. As long as he continues to take his pills, life will be good and he will be safe. But when he accidentally drops one, he learns he has feelings for Kyer, his best friend. Another boy. Revolution: Aine and Kyer escaped the Colony, but it doesn't take long for them to tire of living outside its walls. Aine decides to return and, as the next Overseer, bring about some much-needed changes. But breaking back in proves even harder than breaking out. They must dodge Officers, evade Monitors, and convince the people they deserves better. Will anyone listen?